Hugo Gonzalez, fortunately, had a bunch of family members with him as he navigated his first-ever Summer League with the Celtics. So he at least had his support system to lean on throughout his time in Las Vegas while navigating a new, unknown land.
Still, there was at least somewhat of a culture shock for the 19-year-old. Vegas itself is special in the United States compared to the rest of the country — especially Boston. His new home on the East Coast is similar to a European city, he explains, but Vegas is a different beast.
“It’s a little bit crazy,” Gonzalez said. “I got lucky that I have a lot family here. But they’re in different hotels. For me, it’s really crazy to see, if we’re going to any room of my family, having to pass through a casino. It’s like, makes no sense for me. Boston was more or less similar to Madrid. Here, it’s too much. You can be in New York, Paris or Egypt at one time all within two kilometers.”
Gonzalez was one of three Celtics rookies on the Summer League roster, joining Amari Williams and Max Shulga. Interestingly, all three of them grew up overseas before coming stateside to pursue their basketball careers. It’s a unique international flavor for the Celtics that perhaps has some added side benefits while on the court.
Gonzalez was raised in Spain and suited up for Real Madrid, which he described as a dream come true. Williams grew up in England playing soccer. Shulga was born in Ukraine before moving to Spain to play basketball; the guard can also speak four languages (Ukrainian, English, Russian and Spanish).
Since Shulga knows Spanish, Gonzalez said they banter occasionally, plus, perhaps they can use it in-game to deceive opponents. At the very least, when Gonzalez is frustrated with himself and speaks in Spanish, Shulga knows what he’s saying. Shulga moved to Spain to pursue basketball before he was a teenager. He found his ticket stateside when he played at Utah State for three seasons before spending the final two years of his college career at VCU.
“Just getting my feet wet in the NBA,” Shulga said of his Summer League experience. “Just learning through different reads out of the pick-and-roll. It’s a lot of drop in the NBA. I would just say getting used to the defense, to the pace of the game and just continuing, no matter if my shot’s falling or not, just continuing to control the game and be the point guard of the team.”
Williams spent four seasons at Drexel in Philadelphia before making his way to Kentucky for his final season. But his accent isn’t a dead giveaway, so some friends didn’t know he was English unless it was listed next to his name on the roster. Williams admitted there was a learning curve to living in the U.S., but mostly small things like flipping which side of the road people drive.
The Celtics are hoping their rookies will develop into rotation players down the line. Gonzalez is already slated to be in Boston this fall from the get-go as there weren’t any plans to have him be a draft-and-stash player. Shulga and Williams will likely end up on two-way contracts, though that’s not official yet. But the NBA dream is right in front of each guy after starting their lives elsewhere across the globe.
“I always said it wasn’t like, ‘I want to go (to the NBA) at 21, I want to go at 20,’” Gonzalez said. “I think I just wanted to go whenever I felt I was ready. It was the point of last season that I was ready for everything. Obviously, you gotta adapt and you gotta get better. But there was a time in my head that I thought I was ready.”
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